A new agent in town
by Pikatchoune
Summary: Pre-Series One-shot. Neal went off the radar for months. He reappears in Boston in a housing scam that left nearly twenty people on the street. Peter can't believe it, James Bonds doesn't attack only the rich anymore. Or does he? White collar doesn't belong to me.


"Boss, we found Caffrey's trace."

Special agent Peter Burke looked up from the file he was rereading for the 50th time, trying to find the tiniest clue that would put him back on the trail of the con man he'd been trying to catch for the last three years. That case became an obsession. He wouldn't rest until James Bonds would be locked up behind bars.

Even if he was nearly certain that Neal Caffrey was not an alias, Agent Burke couldn't help but use his suspect nickname more often than he should. The man vanished from the surface of the earth three months earlier, after the spectacular theft of a Fiorentino piece, _Portrait of a young man holding a letter_. The work of art disappeared from the Smithsonian Institute in Washington and was replaced by a copy made of chocolate. The diplomatic relations between The United States and England suffered from the larceny, since the painting was on loan from the London National Gallery. The British didn't care for an eatable copy, even if it was made in the finest Swiss chocolate.

The FBI had no lead what so ever in that case, which was the main reason why Peter Burke was convinced that Neal Caffrey was responsible was the heist. But the agent's gut feeling would never be enough to convict anyone. And in order to convict the con man, someone would have to catch him first.

"Finally a good news, Jones! What do we have?"

"Caffrey was involved in a housing scam in Boston. The con ran smoothly. The victims had trouble paying their loans. Someone comes up, and offers a repurchase agreement of the mortgage that seems like a very good bargain. People are so scared to lose their home that they jump on the occasion. But in truth, they sell their house for very little money and find themselves out on the street, with no way to fight back."

"And Caffrey was part of that?"

Agent Burke was disappointed. He thought that the con man he was after had some sort of a heart. So far, James Bonds only attacked people who could afford to live without the money he stole from them. Depriving poor people who could not defend themselves, that was not part of his MO. He really had to catch him.

"OK, I'm on my way to Boston, before he can flee."

WC*WC*WC

A couple of hours later, Agent Burke walked into the FBI building in Boston. The man in charge of the case welcomed him with a satisfied smile.

"I'm Special Agent Doug Chapman. I'm afraid you came here for nothing, Sir. The case is closed and all suspects are in custody."

Peter's heart sank. After so many months chasing the man, he hoped he would be the one to arrest Neal Caffrey. A part of himself was disappointed that the Boston office had been faster. His rational mind told him that the important thing was that the criminal were behind bars, but that voice was shy. He was going to miss that cat and mouse game. Agent Chapman was still talking.

"They made the victims sign a contract that was supposed to lower the monthly payment on the mortgage. But the document actually authorized the bearer to sell the house, what our con men did very fast. The new owners bought those houses in good faith, so it will probably be impossible to cancel the sells."

"The four suspects were brought in. It is a start. Can I see them?"

"Four?" asked agent Chapman. "The gang was made of only three people."

"Let me guess, you didn't arrest the man called Nick Holden?"

"Of course we did. We arrested him like everyone else to protect his cover. Agent Holden was set free as soon as his safety was asserted. He's done a terrific job, you're lucky to have him in your team."

Peter burst out laughing. He should have known that Neal would find a way to pull through. Impersonating a Federal agent was certainly a crime, but one more genius idea too.

"Agent Burke, are you OK?" Agent Chapman was looking at him with concern.

"The FBI doesn't employ an Agent Holden. You let Neal Caffrey go. He is one of the greatest con men in History. And I suppose he ran with the scam money. We have to start your investigation over. Do you have the victims' names? I'd like to talk to them."

Doug Chapman was in shock. His glorious feat, which was supposed to help his career, just blew up in his face. Desperate to make up for his mistake, he hastened to gather the seventeen victims and introduced them to Agent Burke.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, one of the culprit escaped. We need your help to catch him."

Neal's picture appeared on the screen behind Peter.

"This man's name is Neal Caffrey. He impersonated an FBI Agent to evade justice. He also took all the money the gang gained by selling your houses. If you want to get some of it back, you need to help us."

Peter was surprised by the magnitude of the silence that greeted his words. He knew that Neal was good at charming his victims, but those people lost everything, they should be willing to help the FBI.

"If he threatened you," Peter resumed, "we can protect you."

The people in front of Peter were shooting each other tense look. After a while, a young woman raised her hand.

"Yes, Madam…?"

"Webb, Vanessa Webb. I think I'll speak for everyone here. No one will help you catch Nick. We owe him so much."

Peter was lost. The con men's accounts were empty. The money was gone, and so were the houses. Those people would be on the streets in no time.

"I'm not sure I follow you, Mrs. Webb."

"I don't know how Nick did it, but he repaid all of our loans. We all got a letter from our bank saying our mortgage was fully paid. We also received a deed proving the houses are ours. A joint account with 50'000$ was opened so we can build a playground for our kids. Nick Holden is no criminal, he's our guardian angel."

Everyone started talking at the same time, emblazoning their savior.

"We will testify against the people who tried to steal everything we had," Vanessa stated. "But we won't say a word about Nick. Never."

A huge smile appeared on Peter's face. He wasn't wrong after all. James Bonds was not the average thief.

WC*WC*WC

Once in New York, Peter Burke fell back in his routine. Neal Caffrey would reappear soon enough, and he would make a mistake someday. One night when the Agent was working late, his cell phone rang. He thought that Elisabeth was tired of waiting for him, but when he checked the caller ID, he didn't recognize the number.

"Peter Burke"

"Good night Peter. How was Boston? I'm sorry I missed you, but I was in a hurry."

"Caffrey, it's Agent Burke for you. Who do you think you are? What do you want?"

"I was just wondering whether the FBI caught those nasty con men in Boston. Those men really had no heart."

"They are in jail and they won't get out any time soon. We are still looking for their last associate. A man called Nick Holden. Does the name ring any bell?"

Peter could hear a small laugh on the other end of the line.

"Never heard of him, but I'll keep my eyes open."

"That Nick Holden is a weird guy. He could run with the money, but instead, he used it to help the victims keep their home. I wonder how he did it, and why."

"Maybe he never really had a home, and he knows more than anyone how important it is. And maybe he is more like you than you think, and he can't stand the idea of poor people losing everything, Agent Burke."

"That doesn't explain how he did it."

"In theory, I imagine that he might have used some of his aliases to buy those houses from his accomplices. Then, he just needed the gang trust in order to manage the account and use the money to pay the victims' debts. He just needed to keep some of it to pay the notary bill to give back the homes to the family who lived there in the first place. But that's just a guess."

"But why pretend to be an FBI Agent? That was risky."

"He probably thought it was funny, I suppose. And it was the only way to make sure the bad boys would go to jail. The Boston office is not as efficient as the one in New York, Agent Burke."

"Impersonating an Agent is a federal crime."

"If I ever meet Mr. Halden, I will not fail to mention it."

Silence fell on the line. Peter was the first to speak.

"What you did in Boston, Neal, was more than just catch criminals. You saved those families. But that won't prevent me from sending you to jail."

"I know. Good night, Peter."

"Goodbye, Neal."

Peter was thoughtful for a long time once the con man hung the phone. Neal Caffrey was still a mystery, a puzzle impossible to solve. But the young man hadn't changed. He didn't become a monster ready to steal from anyone, including the weakest. And that was a very good news. The chase was still on.


End file.
